1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention described herein pertain to the field of motor vehicle electronics. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, embodiments of the invention enable the integration of remote motor vehicle signal indicators outside of the motor vehicle to supplement the existing vehicle signal indicators provided in the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motor vehicle signal indicators such as brake lamps, turn signal indicators, and reverse indicators are well recognized in the motor vehicle industry as essential elements to motor vehicle safety. These vehicle signal indicators are generally positioned at highly visible locations on the vehicle so that others can easily see them. However, even though these vehicle signal indicators are designed to be easily viewed, a driver driving in certain orientations may have difficulty seeing the turn signal indicator of another vehicle.
Thus, to increase the visibility of a motor vehicle, and to enhance motor vehicle safety, it is often desirable to supplement an existing motor vehicle's turn signal indicators with additional turn signal indicators. These additional or supplemental turn signal indicators are typically mounted to an exterior surface of a motor vehicle's body in a highly visible area, such as on the side mirrors, for example. Such supplemental turn signal indicators are often provided “after market” and must be installed by the vehicle owner or other vehicle service person. Thus, these external supplemental turn signal indicators require wiring to provide both power and the turn signal to the turn signal indicator. Typically, these wires are fed from the source of the turn signal, which is within the vehicle, through the body of the motor vehicle at the point where the external signal indicator is affixed to the vehicle. Disadvantageously, since the supplemental signal indicators are redundant to the existing signal indicators of the vehicle, holes must be provided, e.g., drilled into the motor vehicle's door or body, to allow the power and signal wires from within the vehicle to be coupled to the external signal indicator. Thus, installation is difficult and expensive.